Romney’s son follows “Crate Gate” with another pet that “rides outside”?

From Mitt Romney's son's blog. The caption on this photo read: "Our fearless sidekick. This fish has cheated death more times than I can remember."

I told you this week about the story of Mitt Romney and “Crate Gate,” the 30-year-old story about a family trip where Seamus, the family dog, was forced to ride on the roof in a carrier.

Several people have asked me if maybe it was time to forget about the story, given that it happened 30 years ago. I think that if there was a sense that Romney realized that making a dog ride for 12 hours strapped to the roof of a car was a bad way to treat an animal, then yes, I would say it’s time to forgive and move on. (I don’t know that he has … has he?)

But our pal Rusty, of DogsAgainstRomney.com, just alerted us to a story from Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Beast about a cross country road trip Mitt Romney’s son Craig and his pals took with another “pet”: a fish, who was kept in a water bottle and strapped to various parts of the moving van for the trip.

Like father, like son?

The blog where the photo was originally found, www.RoadEndsInWater.blogspot.com, has now been made private. But as most young people have never learned, everything on the internet stays on the internet forever. (In fact, one of Rusty’s pals just shared this link to the cache of the blog. Looks like they had a fun trip. Even got to pet some wolves.)

So yup, a little digging turned up a couple of photos of the fish in the water bottle. I originally posted and then decided to remove the photo that showed the fish bottle hanging from the rearview mirror while someone was driving. In the end, it doesn’t matter. The fish – a Betta – was still in a water bottle, but at least we know it got to ride inside!

I’m still pondering if a fish in a bottle hanging outside (or inside) the car is the same as a dog on a roof? Methinks … not … ? Believe it or not, this is kind of complicated for me. It’s a fish … and I wanted to say “just a fish”. But then again, God’s eye is on the sparrow … “just” a sparrow?

Billy Murray carried a fish in jar around his neck in “What About Bob” and it was cute – but in Hollywood, there’s someone on the set to oversee the humane treatment of all animals, insects, and other living creatures used in filming. (Even flies.) Gill surely had a constant supply of fresh water and mandatory coffee breaks. Not so much a fish in a water bottle swinging from a rear view mirror.

I’d love to know what you think: Does a fish feel the same terror riding 70 mph down the highway as Seamus the dog did riding atop the family car? Are Romney’s son and his pals just having some fun, or is this a legitimate case of mistreatment of an animal? (Or in this case, a fish … ) And more importantly, does (and should) the story of Crate Gate affect your voting decision?

And here’s a question: if this fish story got you worked up, does this story also make you feel the same way?

Popular at Patheos Spirituality

Conversation about faith and animal-related issues is welcome, so please feel free to comment on posts and engage with other readers. However, PLEASE READ THE COMMENT POLICY to ensure that discussions remain calm and reasonable.